NEW DELHI: This Diwali season, you aren’t alone cleaning cobwebs and preparing a sparkling home for Goddess Laxmi to enter. The Union Government has issued a circular ordering all Government departments to clean up their offices, and dispose off old useless files before Diwali.
According to Hindu tradition, people clean their homes before Diwali to please Goddess Laxmi so that she enters their homes on the day of Diwali.
“I don’t know whether the Government is trying to propitiate God, but the economy is in a bad shape and businesses are badly in need of divine blessings,” a source remarked jokingly.
Cabinet Secretary PK Sinha in a communication to all Secretaries of the centre government last week, asking them to launch a Special Drive before Diwali aimed at making the offices clean and tidy. Referring Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s flagship programme of Swachch Bharat Mission, top most Babu of the centre government has stated that during the special drive, ‘ the old or unserviceable items, including files, which are of no use and keep lying around, may also be identified and disposed of as per the extant rules and instructions.”
Making sure, his directives should be followed religiously, cabinet Secretary has also asked the outcome or result of this special drive including ‘before and after’ pictures to be shared by uploading on respective ministries or department’s website, twitter handle or other social media plateforms.
Moreover, incorporating PM Modi’s push for Digital India into festival greetings, Cabinet Secretary has also suggested that Diwali greetings be exchanged digitally by saying that it is eco-friendly as well as will cut down avoidable expenditure on the government exchequer.
It is notable that a fortnight campaign of Swachch Bharat Abhiyan by union government received flak from the military fraternity as local commanders even the GoCs were seen in pictures floating in social media, giving task to their subordinates and soldiers to clean drains and areas of the military stations.